gujucrave

Had my 04 SL for about a little over a month and just felt the pain of ignorant drivers, I make sure I leave enough space in the back front and the sides when I park my car. Even though I try my best last night some looser needed much extra space, so much extra space that she decided to park all up my bumper and leave a nice imprint of her license plate bolt on my bumper. I would hate to put them on my bumpers because they are ugly but to save my bumpers from getting anymore scratches or anything worse I would be willing to sacrifice the looks of the bumpers.
Anyway the main question is does anyone have bumper guards on there 04’s if so can u recommend?

koreanmaximan

Funny... I had the same accident.., on the road however. An uninsured motorist hit me from the back and left 2 license plate bolt marks on my bumper. This happened about 1 month after I bought my car last year. Of course, I got compensated with $700 cash. Later, I used it to change to brand new bumper and add a rear spoiler at the dealer bodyshop. It was a good deal, because the bumper and spoiler both do not come painted, and I only had to pay one time.

Anyways, what's a bumper guard? Never heard of them...

joffy

hi. I got my bumper scratched by somebody parked behind me after only 2 months. I got some guards that almost match the color of my car but they also have a silver metal insert that makes them look more classy than just plain black rubber bumper guards. I haven't put them on yet because I want a body shop to do it professionally so they don't come off. I'll tell you if they work out.

jsmithsole

iTrader: (5)

I just park at the far end of the lot where there are no cars (natural bumper guard) , and good exercise!!!

lightonthehill

Count me with jsmith. If I can't find a parking area where nobody else seems interested in parking, I simply don't patronize that business. At least not at that time.

The long walks from hinterland parking are inconvenient when the wind chill is zero, but I absolutely REFUSE to park where one of the 100,000,000 inconsiderate, rude, bonehead brainless nitwits with valid driver's licenses can reach my car with their lethal weapon doors.

There was not one single ding on my '85 Maxima when I let it go with 206,000 miles on the clock. I still have my 2000 Maxima with 60,000 miles and not one ding.

Sure, I am obsessed. But it makes me absolutely sick inside when I see some obese slob swing the seven foot long door of an oversize, overweight two door rusty Detroit bucket of bolts until it crunches the side of some Mercedes or Jaguar or (worst of all) a new Maxima.

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Bumper guards were a big thing from twenty to seventy years ago, but I don't see many these days, except on police cars. I think this trend is called 'style over substance'.

joffy - Where did you find bumper guards for the '04 Maxima?

rabenoja

iTrader: (2)

I do the same thing. I park as far away from everyone else as I can. It's kinda funny that I do that now. I used to think that people were crazy for parking all the way on the other side of parking lot but, now I know.

Lightonhill, I find that the people who drive the nice expensive cars are the people that don't care (at least in my area). They take cars for granted because they have too much money. When I used to have my VW, I would park it by the mercedes/bmw's. That car had the most door dings out of all of the cars that I have owned. It goes to show you...rich or poor, people just don't have any respect for somebody else's property. So, now I just try and park somewhere where there isn't any other cars and then pray that nobody will park next to me.

lightonthehill

rabenoja - now that you mention it, I have seen many drivers of nice cars open their door against other cars.

As my wife and I are making the long walks to/from the far end of the lot, we sort of watch what is happening around us. We get the impression that Buick, Camry, Mercury, Lincoln, Lexus and Cadillac drivers seem more prone to dinging doors (opening their door until it hits the adjacent car) than Maxima, Accura, Infinity, BMW, Saab, Accord or Volvo drivers, with Mercedes somewhere in between.

That ratio may be different in other areas, or even different here, as we only see a small sampling of what goes on out there.

But you are probably correct in your thesis that some folks have so much money they could care less what happens to the side of their (or other folks) car.

jsmithsole

iTrader: (5)

Speaking of inconsiderate, rude, bonehead brainless nitwits with valid driver's licenses I saw a guy at the grocery store the other day and he walked half way across and then just pushed his cart towards the cart collection area, and of course it veered off and hit the car parked next to the cart parking. I couldn't believe my eyes. If I wasn't in such a hurry I would've said/done something (it was an old beater car anyways, but it still doesn't make it ok that's for sure) Some people!!!

originalstarlit

That type of accident happened to my Pearl 2000. Several dents had to be removed at the body shop and that 3 stage paint costs double for repairs. That was an $600 trip to Wal-Mart.

I was at the end of the line far from everyone, but on a slopping lot. Now I never part at the bottom of these lots that have carts.

wirelessone

I only had mine for about 3 weeks before some ******* hit my rear bumper and took the paint and primer of the car.

Scott_401

I'm training my wife to only park in certain areas. She is a shop-a-holic and malls are the worst place to park. I worry only a little bit at work. A group of us all park in a certain area to make sure noone parks next to us. Plus I control the camera to that parking lot

gujucrave

Looking for a place when I can get bumper guards, I found this web site www.secondaryexposure.com they look very promising. I called a sales person and will go to the shop on Saturday to see all different types of bumpers they have to offer for the 04 max. Wish me luck!

ruacop2

Here's another place to check out www.rockblocker.com. They offer pre-cut kits for most vehicles.

koreanmaximan

I'm still not too convinced with bumper guards... Can you tell me how your trip turns out? Are you planning on clear coating of some sort...? Perhaps, post some pics if you get it done?

joffy

I found them at a place called Big Boys Toys on Queens Blvd . I work in Manhattan and don't have the luxury of parking away from people or of course I would too. I had an Eagle Talon before this and it was years before it got scratched up.

lightonthehill

joffy - thanks for the response.

I agree that 'parking at the far end of the lot' would not work in Manhattan. One is very fortunate to find even a sliver of a parking place anywhere anytime in Manhattan. I worked in NYC during the summers many years ago, and stuck strictly to the subway system.

Be nice if those putting bumper guards on their '04 Maximas would post a pic so others (including me) can decide if this is something we might be interested in.


edit - The term 'bumper guard' traditionally refers to two vertical pieces, each about a foot or more tall and two to four inches wide, one mounted obout a foot or two each side of the center of the bumper.

The protective rubber strips many folks now put on their bumpers are not really 'bumper guards', they are simply 'protective rubber strips'. I always put those around the wheel wells and along the side of almost any vehicle I own.

JVardaman

This is one of my biggest pet peeves of the Max bumpers. One little
glancing scrap and it's down to the black plastic. And it just sticks out like a sore thumb. Who knows how much touch up paint I'll have to go through over the next few years. I've got two license plate bolt marks
scraping across the back of my 04 Maxima's silver bumper. Someone didn't have a clue how to park. It doesn't HAVE to be 'bumper cars'. Why didn't they at least make the plastic underneath silver. Of course I'm only thinking for my car's color. I guess people who have black Maximas don't have this problem. I had a white Taurus SHO before this and it's bumper still looks new. (white plastic all the way through) My 04 Max looks more banged up already. It's not from parking lots it's from visiting friends in downtown Chicago that did me in. All street parking.

joffy

hey light. when i get them put on i'll try and post a pic. I'm actually thinking of putting 2 sets on the rear bumper because it's such a large area one set won't cover a big area . I've seen a few people do this and it looked pretty good without being gaudy. also found some shorter ones that are a little deeper. might combine the 2. I'll let you know how it works out. I think i'll go back to black on my next car.

andymax95

I can't stand people that don't respect other people's property. I tend to park as far as possible in lots to avoid getting ****ed off when I'm leaving the store cause some a*shole decided to slam his door into my car. But I stopped that whole ordeal because last time I parked far away, I came out to no car just some of my front window held together with some tint. So to me it sucks getting scrathes and dings from inconciderate people, but it's better then having some sh*t head steal it. If life was perfect, this thread would've never been posted. Just remember imperfections are a common occurence in life and dings and scratches add individuality to everyones ride.

spludge